Flathead county students rack up ribbons at the Montana Science Fair

Hilary Matheson Education |, Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Mont.
·5 min read

Apr. 1—Flathead county students rack up ribbons at the Montana Science Fair

Budding scientists represented Flathead County well at the state science fair in Missoula with Flathead High School's Kenna Anderson qualifying for one of two spots to compete at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.

At state, Anderson's science project, The Effect of Ocean Acidification on Carbon Sequestration by Nannochloropsis, won the Larry Fauque second-place award, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize and a gold ribbon in the environmental sciences category.

Flathead High School student Dyson Linden also received a special award, the Montana Space Grant, for his project Spaced Out Music: The Effect of Distance on Sound Delay, which won a gold ribbon in the physics and astronomy category.

The first-place Grand Award for seventh-grade biological projects went to Kalispell Middle School student Asher Stanfield's project Winter Birds and their Feed Preferences. Earning a second-place Grand Award in the seventh-grade energy category was Logan Schwartz of Trinity Lutheran School for his project What Fuels the Fire? At the high school level, Flathead's Keanu Ng received a third-place Grand Award for his project The Effect of Wildfire Ash on the Growth of Algae. All three also won gold ribbons in their respective categories.

The state competition was held at the University of Montana March 24 and March 28 with an awards ceremony on March 29. Students had the option to compete virtually or in person. Students from Deer Park School, Evergreen Jr. High, Smith Valley School, St. Matthew's School, Trinity Lutheran School and West Vally School also won awards.

This year, Kalispell Public Schools offered to provide transportation to the state competition and a regional competition in Great Falls. Twelve students from Flathead, Kalispell Middle School and Smith Valley School took up the offer. Previously, students were responsible for their own transportation if they wanted to compete beyond the county science fair. Parent Rebecca Linden, who served as a trip chaperone and is also a school board trustee, said the intent was to give more students access to advanced levels of competition that they might otherwise not be able to attend due to lack of transportation.

Although competing as individuals, the small group was unified by the matching T-shirts they wore thanks to a donation from the STEAM Alliance.

"The T-shirts were a hit," Linden said. "They really formed a sense of a community."

The International Science and Engineering Fair will be held May 7-13 in Atlanta. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, finalists who are unable to travel have the option to be judged virtually.

Following are local individual results from state:

Sixth Grade biological

Gold ribbon

— Jacob linden, A Tale of Two Teas: Melissa officinalis processed like black tea, Kalispell Middle School

Sixth grade physical

Silver ribbon

— Meah Koppes, The Science Behind Cookies, St. Matthew's Catholic School

Bronze ribbon

— Cheyenne Heino, Serve that Ball, St. Matthew's Catholic School

Seventh grade biological

Gold ribbon

— River Schott, What Do Conflicting Mental Tasks Reveal, West Valley School

— Asher Stanfield, Winter Birds and their Feed Preferences, Kalispell Middle School

Bronze ribbon

— Hannah Brabham, Case of Mistaken Identity, West Valley School

— Lilyana Hutcheson, Bacteria Be Gone, Trinity Lutheran School

— Jaylin Mitchell, Let's Get Dirty, Trinity Lutheran School

— Madeleine Neumann, Bacteria Be Gone, Trinity Lutheran School

— Oliver Rosenberg, What's in the Water?, West Valley School

Seventh grade physical

Gold ribbon

— Logan Schwartz, What Fuels the Fire?, Trinity Lutheran School

Silver ribbon

— Jake Hale, How do you throw, West Valley School

Bronze ribbon

— Bella Councilor, Will the wood beat the steel? Or will the steel beat the glass?, West Valley School

— Noah Elliot, The Great Dishwasher Debate, Trinity Lutheran School

— Layla Losleben, Skittles DNA, Smith Valley School

— Elektra Morrow, Ha Ice Crea, Smith Valley School

— Parker Scherer, Bath Bomb Reaction, West Valley School

Eighth grade biological

Silver ribbon

— Teagen Flint, Do Different Dilutions of Disinfectants Affect Bacterial, Resistance?, Deer Park School

— Lahna Thorn, Be Smart Don't Start, Trinity Lutheran School

Bronze ribbon

— Kadyn Banyai, Can Bearded Dragons See Color?, Smith Valley School

— Amelia Crandall, Caffeine and its Effects on Heart Rate, Smith Valley School

— Colton Crandall, Pinocchio's Lie-Free Zone, Smith Valley School

— Selah Piedemonte, Water: Which One is Best for Radishes, Trinity Lutheran School

— Carla Wilton, Suggestion, and its Effects on Human Perception, Evergreen Jr. High

Eighth grade physical

Silver ribbon

— Ruby Hadley, Electric Motors, Smith Valley School

Bronze ribbon

— Emily Higgs, Sketch and Shade, Evergreen Jr. High School

— Madison Corman-Berg, Levitating Orb, Smith Valley School

— Emily Higgs, Sketch and Shade, Evergreen Jr. High School

High School

Environmental Sciences

Gold ribbon

— Kenna Anderson, The Effect of Ocean Acidification on Carbon Sequestration by Nannochloropsis, Flathead High School

— Keanu Ng, The Effect of Wildfire Ash on the Growth of Algae, Flathead High School

Physics and Astronomy

Gold ribbon

— Dyson Linden, Spaced Out Music: The Effect of Distance on Sound Delay, Flathead High School

Special awards

Seventh-grade biological grand award, first place — Asher StanfieldWinter Birds and their Feed Preferences, Kalispell Middle School

Seventh-grade energy award, second place — Logan Schwartz, What Fuels the Fire?, Trinity Lutheran School

Division I grand award, third place — Keanu Ng, The Effect of Wildfire Ash on the Growth of Algae, Flathead High School

Stockholm Junior Water Prize — Kenna Anderson, The Effect of Ocean Acidification on Carbon Sequestration by Nannochloropsis, Flathead High School

Montana Space Grant — Dyson Linden, Spaced Out Music: The Effect of Distance on Sound Delay, Flathead High School

Larry Fauque Award, second place — Kenna Anderson, The Effect of Ocean Acidification on Carbon Sequestration by Nannochloropsis, Flathead High School

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 406-758-4431or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.